How to End an Email

You’ve written an email, and need to wrap it up. You could end with a simple “Sincerely,” tack on your name, and then shoot it out the door, proving definitively that you suck at communication.

See, the closing is an opportunity—your last chance to hone your message and craft your impression, whether it’s authoritative, reserved, or easy-going. “Sincerely,” that flat, old relic, is the fallback of the unimaginative, unauthoritative, and, in many respects, insincere. (Though that aspect may indeed come in handy in certain circumstances, as you’ll see.)

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But alternatives to the familiar must be chosen carefully, as each is fraught with implication. “It does matter how you say goodbye in an email,” says business etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, owner of the Protocol School of Texas. “Depending who you are speaking with, and how you want to be perceived, the close of your email is the last impression you will make. If it's a bad one, it may just be your final ‘goodbye’ to that person.”

Scary, right? But don’t kiss your socioeconomic standing goodbye just yet. I surveyed etiquette experts and colleagues, and perused my own archive of 42,323,245 emails to see which farewells hit precisely the right note and which flagged their senders as hapless neophytes in the realm of digital discourse. Closing strategies will vary based on whether it’s an initial email or the 12th in a endless chain of corporate claptrap, and whether you’re trying to be chummy, deferential, or firm. So, without further adieu . . .

ANYTIME

—“Best”: Simple, and almost universally wieldable, regardless of whether you’re initiating a conversation with a new acquaintance or communicating with a colleague of 10 years. “It’s safe, warm, not overly businesslike but also not too familiar,” says Jacqueline Whitmore, a Palm Beach, Fla.-based etiquette coach.

—“Thank you”: This is cool because it contributes something—actual gratitude. “It’s also polite and to the point,” Gottsman notes.

—“Thanks”: A bit more casual than the above, and it can be readily amended with an exclamation mark to bump up the energy a bit. But wield that bang carefully: Too much enthusiasm can come across as slightly goofy, insincere, or unwelcomingly familiar. As in all forms of writing, insert exclamation marks VERY sparingly: “Use it if you are the boss, but not to the boss,” Gottsman says. “It’s a bit too informal, but may still work once you have built a relationship with your boss. Use your judgment.”

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SOMETIMES

—“Sincerely”: Safe, professional, and neutral, according to Gottsman. But also boring. It’s an invisible word that leaves no impression. Avoid, unless you’re communicating for the first time with a large multinational conglomerate. That said, the word can come in handy for the rare times that you’re trying deliberately to telegraph a degree of subtle disdain. As in: “I truly support your decision to terminate your relationship with this company, and wish you luck in your future endeavors. Sincerely, Steve.”

—“Take care”: Another example of a closing that actually says something, without crossing any lines. Best to use only with people you’ve encountered before.

—“Yours”: Well, who else’s? Generally, this is archaic and stuffy, but when used with close friends, usually of the opposite gender, it’s largely inoffensive.

—“Thx”: Alone, this comes across as dismissive and lazy. You really don’t have time to spell it out? But “Thx” with a bang (!) has a bit of energy to it, imparting good-natured rapport on a busy day. Thx!

—“Many thanks”: A solid way to prime the pump. “It shows that you are expecting a good outcome to the email,” Gottsman says.

—”NRN”: “No response necessary.” Properly deployed, this can help eliminate all those “Got it!” “No problemo!” and “Okay!” emails that clutter our inboxes. This isn’t used enough. But be careful: It’s okay to shoot an NRN down the chain and sideways, but never fire one up the ladder. In that case, it has a muzzling effect, to which the reaction might be something like, “Well, how about I just respond by firing your stupid ass? NRN.”

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—Initials: Generally fine, but only use if you’re okay with the possibility of those initials becoming your nickname. “I will also sometimes just put JW without ‘sincerely,’ depending on who person is,” Whitmore says. “Usually it’s for when someone sends me information I’ve requested: ‘Thanks so much! JW’” One colleague, however, noted the critical distinction between just running your initials and running your initials in lowercase. Our consensus: false humility. Avoid.

—“Ciao”: Unless you’re actually Italian, don’t. “If you are speaking with a conservative client, say you are his banker, and you sign off 'Ciao'—that’s a bad choice,” Gottsman says. “It's best to err on the side of something more generic.”

—“Cheers”: Again, unless you’re actually British, don’t.

—Anything attempting to sound remotely cool or funny. I once ended a long, slightly braggy email about a successful work project with “Humbly.” It worked—once. The next time I tried it, my colleagues called me out on it. The same thing happens every time I try to be cool, with some emoticon or something. Use humor and coolness as sparingly as you use exclamation points—which is to say, almost never.

NEVER!

—“Regards”: This often feels as though it’s deployed with an automatic signature attachment. It’s cheesy and pointless. “Not my favorite,” Gottsman says. “It’s usually what you say when you aren’t sure what to say.”

—“Best regards”: Pointlessness, squared.

—“Best wishes”: Another seemingly benign platitude where if you sat down and actually thought about what it means, you’ll realize that you’re indicating your hope that good things happen to the recipient generally, which may or may not be the case.

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—“Respectfully”: If your entire missive up until this point hasn’t adequately conveyed the fact that you respect the person you’re writing, then this last-second gesture won’t save you. Grow a pair.

—"Cordially": According to Gottsman, this one is an affectation. “It’s what you’d see if you were invited to a cotillion,” she says. (Well, I’d kinda love go to a cotillion, so I do hope I get to use this at least once in my lifetime.)

—“Yours truly”: If you’re hoping to start a long chain of writerly correspondences with a young Hemingway-type that you’ll later publish in your memoirs, go for it. Otherwise, no.

So there you have it—your definitive guide to closing an email. But there’s one strategy that I saved for last, because it’s quite possibly the best and most universal—at least in casual use. For the ultimate in terminations, do nothing more than append your name. It’s quick, clean, and final. It also nicely skirts the meaning issue: There is, quite simply, nothing to interpret.

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